Happiness
by HeyItzKat
Summary: Jade was destructive. Beck was constructive. and that's what made them happy. untill something changed... Bade later in the story


**I own absolutely nothing…unfortunately**

**This was an idea I had after watching ice-cream for Ke$ha. It kind of snowballed after that and turned into this. It wasn't at all where I was trying to go with it, but I sort of like how it turned out. Anyway, enjoy **

Jade West was destructive

It started when she was 6 years old which is also the time that the fighting started. At first it was just an argument over whose turn it was to cook supper, or pick up milk and bread from the grocery store. But then it became more. Full arguments over money, house payments, work, and other things that Jade didn't fully understand. She hated it. The screaming, the yelling, and the slam of the door as her father would leave angrily for work. Only after she heard the door slam would she come down for breakfast. Jade was about 6 ½ when her parents decided to go to couple/marriage counselling. She was hopeful.

"Maybe the fighting will stop." She thought, crossing her chubby fingers and her toes too, just to be sure. But it didn't. Things only got worse. There were fights at night now too, when her father got home from work. Jade would run upstairs to her room and turn her radio up as loud as it would go, but it never fully drowned out the yelling. That's when Jade started to get angry. She was miserable, she felt unloved, pushed aside. How dare anything be happy in the world when she cried herself to sleep every night! Running out to the shed she had grabbed her father's hammer from his tool box, brought it back to her room and went wild. She smashed anything smiling, anything laughing and anything happy. Her smiling piggy bank, the snow globe with the joyful children in it and the glass picture frame holding a picture of her mom, dad and her where they were all laughing. With each thing she smashed, the better she felt. With every smile that was destroyed, a bit more of a smile grew on Jade's face. By the end she was laughing and grinning from ear to ear. HA! She thought, glancing down at what used to be the playing children in her snow globe. Now you feel worse than me! And that made her happier. Yes it was messed up and wrong .Even 6 year old Jade knew that, but it had made her happy, and wasn't that all that mattered? So Jade's favourite toy became the hammer, because it was the only thing that truly made her happy.

Jade was 7 when her parents got a divorce. They explained to her that they both loved her very much, but that they didn't love each other anymore, that they were going to sell the house and Jade would be living with her mother. Jade knew her parents expected her to sad, or mad even, so she faked it. Even at a young age she was a very good actress. But all Jade felt was relief.

"Finally" she thought, "no more yelling." The next morning when she woke up her mom was gone. She was looking for a smaller house that they would be living in. the house was quiet for the first time in years. Smiling she skipped downstairs, humming cheerfully as she went. Her father stood by the stove cooking her breakfast (that was a first! Seriously, her father had NEVER cooked her breakfast, EVER!) as he talked to a client on the phone and filed a bit of paper work into his folders. Realizing he was running late he quickly dumped the eggs and sausage he had been cooking on a plate for Jade, kissed her on the cheek, and reminded her not to miss the bus, which would be here in 10 minutes. Jade poked at her food and yelled back over her shoulder,

"Wait dad are you sure it's done?"

"Yes it's done, now just eat it, I need to go and your bus will be here soon." And with that he walked out the door. Shrugging she gobbled down the food in front of her. She was about 3 quarters way through when her stomach started feeling funny. Running to the bathroom she barely made it, as everything she had just stuffed down came back up. She spent the rest of the day sleeping on the bathroom floor, as she couldn't find the energy to make it back to bed. And besides she would have ended up running back into the bathroom within 10 minutes anyway to throw up again. She took sips from the sink tap every few minutes to help keep herself hydrated, her mom had always made her do that when she was sick. When her mom finally came home from work and found her, she picked up the little girl and tucked her into bed giving her different types of medicine and cold glasses of orange juice. And Jade started feeling better. But early that morning while her dad was asleep in the couch in the living room, and her mom in the bedroom, she crept downstairs, took the large pan used to cook the eggs and smashed it to bits with her hammer.

"There!" she thought. "Now it feels worse than I do." And that made Jade feel better.

And this was how destructive Jade was born.

ᅜ • • • • • • •

Beck Oliver was constructive.

For Beck it started when he was 7. He had bike. A bike that he saved up months and months of hard earned money, from cleaning garages, to pulling the weeds out of his neighbors gardens. Beck loved that bike, like any 7 year old boy would. For 2 weeks straight he did nothing but bike up and down his street every night until his parents called him for supper. He would gobble down his supper as quick as he possibly could and then run outside to bike again until the street lights went on, and he had to go home. But on one particular Saturday, as he hopped off his bike and left it in the driveway to run inside to go to the washroom, a large truck pulled in and crushed the bike. Beck was devastated. All that work he had done, and time he had spent earning the money, and now all he had was a pile of broken pieces. The 7 year old sat down beside his bike and cried and cried, as any kid would. When his father came out to call Beck to supper that's where he found him. Taking one look at the bike, he put his hands on Beck's shoulder and said.

"We can fix it." Beck looked up at his dad doubtfully. "We can?" he asked his dad. His dad was the quiet type, he wasn't all for the father –son bonding. Don't get me wrong, the 2 got along just fine; they just weren't as close as maybe they should have been.

"Well," said Beck's dad, "we can sure try." Smiling at his son he led him back into the house for supper. For the next few days as soon as his father got off work, the two would get their tool boxes out and work on the bike. As piece by piece the bike was slowly put back together, the smile on Beck's face was slowly fixed too. By the time they were done, Beck's bike was as good as new; it looked as though there had never been any damage. And the same goes for his happiness. The new bike which was once so sad was now happy again, which made Beck happy again. Ya it didn't make a lot of sense, but Beck felt happy, and that's all that mattered.

When Beck was 8 he came home one day with tears streaming down his face after some kid had pushed him down, taken his lunch money and dumped his backpack on the sidewalk. As he went to the cupboard in the bathroom to get a few Band-Aids to cover the many scrapes on his knees, he realized the door was hanging off the hinge. He felt horrible for the door, it knew how he felt, it was sad and broken too, just like him. So the little Beck, went and got his toolbox and fixed the door.

"there." He said as he stood back to admire the fixed door. "Now it feels good and new, just like I do." That's when the 7 year old boy became the repair man of the house. He would scope out anything broken and fix it immediately. It made him sad to see broken things because they were sad too; at least that's how Beck saw it.

And that's how constructive Beck was born.

• • • • • • •

Years had passed and Jade had turned 12 before she knew it. She lived a simple life with her mother and visited her father once a month for a weekend. Well him and whatever girlfriend he was on now. Jade thought it was number 4, but she wasn't sure. Her and her mother lived in a normal-sized house in a quiet neighborhood. But Jade didn't do quiet. The years of listening to her parents scream and yell at each other had convinced her that yelling was the only way to argue. Not calmly talking like most of the people in her neighborhood, but by screaming, and trying to win a fight by being louder. And when Jade got angry, boy did she ever get angry. She was an exact match for her father that way. She never got violent, never actually hurt anyone, but she spat out insults and comebacks so quickly, it was as though she had a gift for that kind of thing. And that wasn't the only thing Jade had a gift for. It was clear at an early age that she had pure talent in singing, acting, and writing. Her mother enrolled her at once for Hollywood Arts early admission, and after an audition, they agreed that when Jade turned 14 (or grade 9, whichever was first) there would be a place at Hollywood Arts open for her.

But one thing about Jade stayed the same. Her need to break things. Most people would have thought that she would have grown out of it by now. But she hadn't. Whenever she became mad or upset, she'd immediately find herself with a hammer in one hand, and the remains of some unidentified object in the other. Her mother never questioned it. Actually Jade wondered if her mother even knew or cared. She wasn't home much as it was hard to be a single parent and pay rent by herself. But Jade had friends now, for the first time. Kids her own age to play with, and would also be going to Hollywood Arts with her. Cat Valentine, Andre Harris, and Robbie Shaprio. They were all so different from each other, but somehow it worked. Cat was ditzy, crazy, and had the wildest hair color. Andre was serious, passionate, and helpful. If you ever found yourself in a difficult situation Andre was the one to go to. If you ever needed a laugh, you went to Cat. But Robbie, well Jade didn't know why she even hung out with the kid. He was just plain weird, and he always carried around this stupid puppet that he had gotten for his 11th birthday last year. Although, even Jade had to admit, he _was _a pretty good ventriloquist. And then there was the new kid Beck Oliver. He had just moved into the town, Jade wasn't sure where from though, he never mentioned. He hadn't moved in yet, but Jade had met him once last year when he had come to his grandma's house for Christmas. But she thought he seemed okay. To be honest she couldn't really even remember him much.

All in all, Jade was living happily with her new life. It was perfect for her. No stress, and no fights (well except the few she had with Cat and the times she had insulted Robbie, but even those were nothing compared to the ones she had listened to when she was 6). Jade loved her new life. That is until the day came when Jade ran out of things to break.

• • • • • • •

Time was speeding alone for Beck too. And when his 12th birthday came, his family moved. His father got a new job and they decided to leave Canada and move to Hollywood. Beck was alright with this. He was an optimist and so easy going that he made friends almost instantly. Besides, it would be closer to his grandma. Although he would be leaving all his other relatives behind, it would be nice to see his grandma more. So they packed up, bought a house, and had left Canada within a month. Beck had always loved acting and performing. Singing wasn't really his thing, he was still good at it, but he much preferred acting. So when they moved to Hollywood, Beck's parents decided to enroll him in Hollywood Arts early admission. Beck aced his audition and had a spot in the school secured for himself when he entered grade 9. Beck loved his new house too. There were lots of things to be fixed, so he was happier than ever. He even knew a few of the kids in the neighborhood, not well, but he had met them before. Beck loved the new town. There were lots of things that would take some getting used to, for example the no snow and rain. That was definitely different. And he kind of missed it, but he knew he would get over it in time.

Since Beck lived on the opposite side of town as his grandma, he rarely saw his "friends." It wasn't a far drive, but as he really had only met them once or twice, he couldn't exactly get his dad to drop him off on their doorstep. He did see them occasionally though when he was visiting his grandma. The bi polar red head, the funny puppet-boy and the musician. That's what Beck called them, because he never saw them long enough to get their names, although they seemed to know his, so he would have felt bad for asking. The funny thing though, was the dark haired girl. She looked so much different than Beck remembered. Her laugh and bright smile were gone, and her shimmering blue eyes looked cold and empty. She dressed a bit darker too then Beck remembered. I mean it wasn't like she had ever worn pink or anything like that, but this was definitely a step darker. Beck never though too much of it. People change he thought.

So Beck was adjusting well to his new life. He was happy, life was good. But as all good things must come to an end, the day came when Beck ran out of things to fix.

• • • • • • •

It was true that Jade became darker. At first when she had ran out of things to break, she simply bought more. But then she ran out of those things. Her mother decided that her habits were starting to get unhealthy so she took away her hammer. Jade was devastated, but soon scissors became her friend. She like to cut things up with them, she loved the sound they made. So when the kids down the street called Jade ugly, she cut up every rose on her neighbors rose bush.

"They look ugly now," she thought. "Now I'M prettier than them." But then she ran out of flowers. There was nothing for Jade to break, nothing to make her feel happy again. So Jade went dark. She became bitter and cold. She picked out darker clothes, wore more makeup and became even ruder and more of a bully than she was before.

When Jade turned 14 she started Hollywood Arts high school with her friends by her side. She loved the school she really did, but because she was Jade she pretended to be unimpressed by everything. She decorated her locker with about 20 pairs of her best scissors. They made her feel happy just to look at them.

It was not secret that Jade was beautiful, even if she didn't think so. But her cold attitude towards everyone except Cat and Andre kept everyone far away. And then something strange happened. Jade met Beck. She hadn't seen him in almost 2 years. He was hotter than ever, but something else was different. It was something about the way he smiled; it didn't quite reach his eyes. And his laugh, it sounded forced, as though he was trying to feel humour, but couldn't. They shared 3 out of 4 classes together, so Jade began to get to know this new Beck a little bit more. She was cold and bitter to him at first, but slowly she decided to trust him. They acted out scenes together, (Sikowitz was always picking the 2 of them to demonstrate his lessons for him, because they were definitely the most serious when it came to acting) and worked on small skits. The more and more Jade spent time with this boy the more and more she began to like him. I mean REALLY like him. He somehow knew the exact things to say that made her have to force down a smile. But there was still something about Beck that seemed….off.

6 months into her grade 9 year and Jade came to school in an absolutely horrible mood. She had missed the bus, didn't have time to make a coffee, and had to walk a mile in the rain. She threw her stuff in her locker miserably, grabbed a dollar from her bag and rammed it into the vending machine nearby, hoping just to get a can of orange juice before her class began. But as she punched in the buttons angrily the OJ didn't fall out, in fact, nothing came out. The stupid machine had eaten her dollar. Before she even knew what she was doing, Jade had done the only thing that she had ever known how to do. She had grabbed the baseball bat out of her locker that she was using as a prop for her improv class and started smashing the machine to smithereens.

• • • • • • •

Beck would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn't changed. It felt as though he just didn't have a reason to be happy anymore. There was nothing to fix when he got upset, nothing to make better again. But he wasn't accepted into Hollywood Arts for nothing. Beck was a great actor. Every day he would go to his new school-which he really did like- and pretend to be cheerful and enthusiastic. And it fooled everyone. Well except her. Jade West. Somehow she never left his mind. And he knew that she saw right though his little act. She intrigued him, and he began to watch her closely. He saw the way she never laughed or smiled, how she was always accompanied by the red head, Cat, he thought it was. But he noticed that besides her and the 2 boys, she didn't really have any other friends. And it was no secret why. While Jade was breathtakingly beautiful, her short temper and sharp tongue kept everyone far away. No one wanted to get too close. But Beck seemed to be the exception. As time went on they performed more scenes together in Sikowitz's improve class. And eventually he even started sitting with her at lunch. She never got to close, but she didn't push him away either, so B eck took it as a good sign. He saw how she liked scissors. How more often than not, he would see her cutting up a piece of paper ferociously, whenever something bad happened. It didn't make a lot of sense to him at the time, but that all changed 6 months into the year, when he saw her lose it.

He saw the baseball bat suddenly, and how she swung it down with all her strength hard, on the vending machine. He never knew what made him do it, why he had that sudden burst of courage. But he knew that you could get expelled for vandalising at Hollywood Arts, and Jade would be crushed if she was expelled. Beck had to stop her. Running over to her quickly he took the bat from her hands threw it hard on the ground and hugged her. He still didn't know why he hugged her either, "wouldn't it have made more sense to just restrain her hands" he thought. But he still did it. Jade remained still for a minute as though she couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. And then Jade West began to cry. Beck held on to her tighter leading her into an empty classroom as the girl sobbed and sobbed until she could cry no more. Taking one of her hands into his, he used his free hand to brush away the strands of hair from her face and a few tears making their way down her cheeks. Nervously beck reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped parcel.

"Here" he said handing it to Jade. "I was going to give this to you this morning, but obviously…" he let his voice trail off as she began opening the present. Her face gave away no hints to what she was thinking when she saw what lay inside. "If I got the wrong idea, I'm sorry I can take them back..." But he was at a loss for words because when he looked into Jades face, he realized she was smiling, as she carefully held her new pair of shiny black scissors. She had a dazzling smile, Beck wondered why she never showed it, and then he thought, maybe she never had a reason to show it.

"Why?" She demanded, her smile fading so quickly, Beck wasn't entirely sure it had even been there in the first place.

"I don't know," he replied. "I knew you liked them, and I wanted to make you happy, so I bought you a black pair, I'm sorry, I'm not sure what I was thinking." She glanced up at his with those big blue eyes and said so softly that Beck could barely hear.

"Thank you."

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Jade suggested they skip school and go get coffee. Beck of course agreed, wanting to spend as much time as possible with this girl. They left hand in hand. One week later they started dating, and soon they were exclusive. Things had never been the same since.

• • • • • • •

They both felt the change. The scissors on Jades locker held a new meaning for her. They weren't just something sharp that could destroy; they were her boyfriend's first present to her. And the tool box in Becks garage wasn't just for fixing stupid little things anymore. It was a reminder of their first date, when they had returned to the school after getting there coffee and seen the janitor fixing the vending machine, his toolbox by his side. Jade smiled more often now, it wasn't as much as Cat, or even Andre did, but she did smile. She even grudgingly accepted her punishment for smashing the machine. 4 days of detention, and Asphalt Café cleanup duty for a week. Oh, and she wasn't allowed to bring baseball bats to school again either. But something else was different about them too. Beck was the first one to figure out what. It was the first time he kissed Jade. They were at Jades house, her mother was working and they were watching some stupid show on TV, which neither had real interest in. As he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, she tensed immediately. But after a few seconds she relaxed and began to kiss him back. Their lips moving in sync and one hand tangled in her long dark hair. And Beck noticed that he was smiling through the kiss. He was actually smiling! Beck Oliver was happy!

Jade realized shortly after too. It was the first time Beck got her coffee order right. Being the demanding person she was, she had sent Beck to grab her a coffee during lunch. When he returned it to her, and after she had finished drinking the entire cup, she became aware that she had never actually told beck, what kind of coffee she drinks, yet he had gotten it right. And she smiled. And Jade West was happy!

Jade never lost her love for scissors, because they reminded her of Beck. She never lost her temper or sharp tongue either, because she was her father's girl that way. And she still loved her black clothing too, but she didn't need to destroy things anymore. Only when she was really upset would you find her cutting something up, like flowers or even a garbage pail. She had other things that made her happy now. Like the smell of Becks sweater that he would give to her when she was cold. The feeling of his hand in hers as they walked down the halls. And the shivers that ran down her spine when Beck pulled her right up against him and kissed her hard and passionately. She didn't need to destroy things anymore to feel happy.

As for Beck, his years of fixing things had turned him into quite the mechanic. He never minded fixing things for other people; he had always liked to help. But when his bike had broken again one day, he simply went out and bought a new one. His smile now reached his eyes. He didn't have to act happy every day, because he truly was happy, and he didn't need to fix things anymore to make himself feel that way

Because Beck and Jade had found what truly made them happy. Each other.

**Yayy you actually made it to the end of this fic. That's good...i hope. Thanks to everyone who convinced me to publish this, I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for you, so thanks as this is my first fic, R&R's are VERY much appreciated. And encouraged. Loved it? Hated it? Thought it was the worst chiz on the planet? Let me know.**

**-Kat**


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